Stray Echo

Four Days

POV: Echo

The nurse had barely left the room before someone lightly knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Atlas called out, and Cordelia pushed the door open. She’s holding some odd-looking squares of black and white shiny material. She attaches them to a white thing on the wall, which lights up, illuminating the photos on the squares. I can only assume they are my x-rays, as they both show what looks to be bones. Broken bones.

The one with two smaller bones shows a line across each. The x-ray of what I believe to be my ankle was nightmarish to look at. Cordelia sighs, frowning before she turns to us.

“Well, your wrist will be a simple matter of placing a cast for a couple of days until Tala heals it.” She points at the cracks on the x-ray. “You can see the relatively clean fractures here.”

“Unfortunately, this ankle is another matter entirely!” She waved at the mangled mess in the x-ray photo. “I am glad that you could hold off healing this Tala, although I can see where you braced with so she could stand on it in the dining hall.” Tala faintly murmurs something and disappears again.

Cordelia frowns, after pointing to the two thin bone growths that pieced the mess together. “Alpha, Luna,” she pauses, “we are going to have to repair this surgically, removing the growths, arranging the bones properly, and placing pins to hold the bones in place until it's healed.”

Already feeling on edge with the sharp scent of what Atlas called antiseptic, I looked between the two wolves. Both wear grim looks, and I can’t help but feel scared at the prospect of going through surgery the first time I enter a hospital.

Cordelia’s amber eyes soften as she hooks a stool with her foot and pulls it with her to sit in front of me. “Echo, deep breaths, my dear.” She pats my hand consolingly. “The surgery will be straightforward. You will be asleep for the whole thing.”

“We go in, line up the bones properly and attach some metal rods to keep the bones where we want them. We close it up, stabilize your ankle and you’ll wake up shortly after.”

“I suspect once Tala gets the go-ahead to heal, you will be completely healed except for your wrist and ankle by this time tomorrow or the day after. We should be able to remove the pins from your ankle around that time. Your wrist will be a couple of days after that, and I think the full healing of your ankle might be closer to a week.”

Atlas spent the entirety of her explanation tracing tiny circles up and down my forearm, sending calming tingles throughout my entire body. Her explanation has me feeling far less concerned, but still anxious.

Things move quickly after Cordelia leaves the room with our consent, and before I know it, several nurses are rolling my bed down the hall and toward the OR. I grab hold of Atlas, begging him with my eyes not to leave me. He nods and follows along.

We reached an area that they call the pre-op room. A nurse came bustling up to me with a needle in her hands, and I watched her closely.

“Just a little pinch, Luna.” She says hurriedly and suddenly injects me with the liquid inside, sending sheer panic rushing through my body as I remember the last time someone stuck me with a needle. I turned and looked at Atlas, terrified and gasping for breath. I’m hoping he wouldn’t have let her inject me with the same torturous liquid that Brady liked to give me whenever I successfully fought off his wandering nighttime hands.

“It’s okay, Little Warrior, it’s just going to make you sleepy. You’ll fall asleep so they can prep you for the surgery without being too anxious.” He explains in a calming voice, caressing my cheek and kissing my forehead to calm me.

Nodding, I allow myself to relax, already feeling drowsy as I sag into the bed. My eyes close of their own accord and I breathe in the scent of my mate to soothe the rest of my anxieties.

“Next time, explain what you’re doing to her before you do it! The point is to make her less anxious, not terrify her completely!” I heard Atlas say shortly to the nurse. I smile faintly as everything fades away.

***

“Atlas, has she still not woken up?” A quiet voice floats into the peaceful void that has been my mind.

“Not yet. She’s healing, though, so we know Tala has either been able to hear us or sensed that everything was in place to be healed.” The deep voice sent a shiver through my mind, mingling with a wonderful tingling sensation working its way up my arm from my hand.

The scents of damp forest, fresh coffee, honey, and cinnamon bring forth both a feeling of calm and a feeling of uncertainty. I ponder this when I hear someone speaking in the back of my mind.

‘Damp forest and fresh coffee is our mate’s scent, he is the one who is making our hand tingle, and his voice gives us shivers. The honey and cinnamon are someone we don’t know.’ I paused, and it took me a moment to recognize the voice for who it was. Tala!

‘It’s good to hear your voice!’ I told her, and I could feel her smile. A faint smile spreads across my lips, and I heard the voices gasp before I feel someone squeeze my hand, sparks of the mate bond telling me it’s Atlas.

“Echo? Baby, are you awake?” I shivered slightly as my body responds to the sound of his voice. “Can you open your eyes, Little Warrior?” The desperation in his voice made me try to open my eyes to comfort him. Slowly prying my eyes open, I gasp as the blinding light forces them to shut again.

“Oh! Let me get the lights!” An unfamiliar voice chirps, and I waited a moment before trying again. Sure enough, the searing light is gone. Blinking several times, I looked to the left side of my bed, searching for the mate I knew was holding my left hand. He meets my eyes, smiling widely, eyes tearing up in the corners. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong, but I only croaked.

“Here, she probably needs some water!” The other voice says, and I see a feminine hand pass a water cup to Atlas, who brings the straw to my mouth. I sip on the water slowly, torn between being thirsty and my throat being too sore to drink any faster. I can hardly take my eyes off my mate, and I suspect he feels the same way as he watches my every movement.

“It’s so good to see you awake, Little Warrior,” Atlas whispers, leaning his forehead to mine and breathing in my scent. I frown, and he chuckles. “You had surgery to repair your ankle, remember?”

Looking down, I take in the large lump under the blanket where my obviously casted ankle sits. Looking at my hands, I realized neither of them were in a cast, and my broken wrist didn’t hurt at all anymore. Clearing my throat, I tried speaking again.

“How long have I been asleep? I thought I was only going to be asleep for the surgery!” My voice was rough, made worse by the tinge of panic that had wedged its way into my mind.

“It’s been four days, love, four long days.” He says, and his eyes speak volumes about how worried he’s been about me. “Cordelia said that it was your body and wolf’s way of recovering after so many years of stress and abuse.”

I blinked at him in surprise. Another four days were lost in unconsciousness. I’d completely forgotten about the other person in the room until they cleared their throat and stepped forward. I flinched away from the sound, leaning towards my mate before peering at them through my lashes.

“I am so sorry, Luna! I didn’t mean to startle you!” The she-wolf says, looking genuinely apologetic. Her pixie-cut black hair is neatly styled, and her delicate features make her look friendly and approachable. Atlas chuckles, soothing me with his circling thumb yet again.

“Echo, this is Noira. She is the female Delta of our pack.” He explains.

“Oh! You’re Blaze’s mate, right?” I asked her, vaguely remembering Travis and Blaze talking about mates on the ride.

“Yes! He wanted me to come and check on you and see if Atlas needed anything in the meantime.” I nodded. As the female Delta, it would make sense for her to check on her Alpha and Luna in times of need.

She grins happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet with nervous energy. I smile back, I like her already, and I suspect we are going to get along just fine.